This blog is all about my first book.

August 23, 2006

Introduction

It was one of those days. Maybe you’ve experienced days like it as well – days when you feel like
you have promised more than you could ever deliver. It was easy to be bold and announce to everybody what God was
going to do for you, but now you’re not so sure. Suddenly, you find yourself standing in a field all alone, face
to face with an angry giant, and all you have in your hands are a sling and a
few lousy pebbles. The question that
keeps going through your mind is: “What was I thinking?”

I don’t know if that’s how David felt, but I know that I’ve
felt that way a number of times. I was
just following my heart and doing what I thought God wanted me to do, and all
along the path to my dream were giants, one after another. Maybe you’ve also felt like that on the way
to your dreams. Not only do the
problems not go away, but they also seem to get bigger and bigger. You wonder
if you’ve made a mistake, and if anyone will notice as you quietly slip away,
go back to your “day job,” and forget the whole thing.

Even people who don’t know much about the Bible have heard
the story of David and Goliath. Newspaper and magazine stories tell us about modern-day Davids going up
against Goliaths of all kinds. From
business to politics, the little guys are facing some pretty big giants. The odds may be against them, but because of
David’s victory over Goliath, they believe they can win.

Throughout our lives we all face “giants” – problems and
struggles that stand in our way. They
loom large on the path to our dreams and make us feel like the difficulties are
greater than the rewards. Because of
David’s example, however, we have hope – not that the problems will disappear,
but that the problems we’re facing can be overcome. Regardless of what others may think, we know from our own
experiences with God that the victory doesn’t go to the one who seems strongest
but to the one who is willing to believe.

The story of David and Goliath is one of my
favorites because
David is a hero to whom I can relate. He has some major faults, but he
has learned to trust God. Just as God worked in David’s life, He’s
working in ours. It’s not about having
it all together, because David definitely didn’t have it all together.

The question that we need to answer is: How do we unleash
the “David” that is in all of us? What
was it about David that enabled him to defeat Goliath? The answer is pretty simple. Jesus said, “Have faith in God” (Mk.
11:22). As simple as that answer may
seem, putting that statement into practice and living a life that exemplifies
faith in God isn’t always as easy as it sounds.

In this story, we’ll find some characteristics that appear
repeatedly in the Bible and in the lives of people who have faith in God. As we look at them, we can ask ourselves how
we’re doing in each area. We’ll find
that we’re doing well with some of them, but that others need work. And we’ll learn from David’s life that we
can trust God to bring about the circumstances we need, when we need them, to
help us grow in these key areas and in our faith in Him.

Then when we come face to face with yet another “giant,”
we’ll realize that God has been using our struggles to teach us more about
Himself. We’ll understand that all
things work for our good, even if some of the situations we had to endure were
difficult and painful. We’ll recognize
that every victory, no matter how small, has strengthened our faith. Like David, we’ll know that we can face the
Goliaths in life because God is with us.